<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>On Crushes and the Void by thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120668">On Crushes and the Void</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat/pseuds/thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat'>thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Void 'Verse [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Awkward Crush, Awkwardness, Bisexual Stephen Strange, Bisexual Tony Stark, Cloak of Levitation (Marvel), How Do I Tag, M/M, Magic, Stephen Strange &amp; Wong Friendship, Tony Stark Flirts, but they will come into play later, i mean its going to come into play later, just a lil bit, pepper and wong are only mentioned in passing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 23:55:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,003</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28120668</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat/pseuds/thirteen_friidays_and_an_anxious_cat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Stephen Strange and Tony Stark, in the opinions of all the current residents of Stark Tower, were two of the worst people to put in a room together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tony Stark/Stephen Strange</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Void 'Verse [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2060100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>63</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>On Crushes and the Void</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Um... Hi! So this is the first fic I've ever posted, and one that will (Hopefully) be a part of a larger 'Verse. Hope you enjoy!</p><p>Thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForTheLoveOf1776/profile">ForTheLoveOf1776</a> for being an absolutely wonderful beta.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Stephen Strange and Tony Stark, in the opinions of all the current residents of Stark Tower, were two of the worst people to put in a room together – not because they’d end up attempting to kill each other, though that in itself would be a perfectly valid reason – but because, as long as they were working on separate projects, they’d burn themselves out in a competition to see who could last the longest, neither stopping the other nor themself as they neared breaking point.</p><p>They never spoke a word about it, though both knew exactly what was going on. The two geniuses would occasionally disappear for days on end, only stopping when someone either came in to yell at them, or they collapsed.</p><p>The former being the far more likely option.</p><p>})i({</p><p>Tony Stark, for all his many faults, was extremely brilliant. That, of course, did end up being the root of many of faults, though far more foolish people have tried to pull off his levels of arrogance before – and failed miserably.</p><p>Now, Stephen Strange – the neurosurgeon who could seemingly perform miracles even before he discovered magic, and with it had become the goddamn Sorcerer Supreme – he was just as arrogant. Even more so, potentially, though he would he be loath to admit that.</p><p>So of course, the moment they were put in a room together, each with a goal in mind, they began their silent competition. Tony had been asked to incorporate magic into the newest Mark of his suits, and Stephen had been asked to provide the magic.</p><p>Being the egotistical arsehole that he was, Stephen was more than happy enough to provide the latest sample of barely stabilized magic that wasn’t even from the current dimension.</p><p>God, sometimes he was a terrible person. But, if he <i>really</i> thought about it, he was doing Tony a favour. The chance to work with magic that hadn’t yet been used by the community was one rarely given to people outside of it - and Stephen was right there with him, so if anything did go wrong, he’d be able to protect Tony. </p><p>Which was why he was currently working on his own project - stabilizing a larger amount of the same magic. If he could do that, then he’d have more understanding of it - and really, it was rather strange that he couldn’t already tell what the magic was. For one, its major characteristics didn’t match up with any that other mainstream types of magic had, and for <i>two -</i></p><p>It simply would not stop exploding.</p><p>“God fucking damnit –,” Stephen swore, as he was pulled back by the Cloak, the explosion contained within a sphere of golden light. Tony barely glanced over, returning to his own project with nothing more than a slight tilt to his lips.</p><p>Bastard.</p><p>They weren’t allowed to work alone anymore – Stephen after the fourteenth time Wong had found him alone, passed out or drunk after spending too long on one project, inevitably hitting burnout or getting frustrated when his hands just slipped- </p><p>That had been the worst time; the aftermath of which had resulted in this fucked-up arrangement wherein he and Tony were put in close proximity for as long as it took for the two of them to get over their projects.</p><p>Tony wasn’t innocent in all of it, either. He’d apparently tested Pepper’s patience one too many times, after JARVIS had reported to her an uptick in the number of meds he was taking daily. A dangerously large uptick, one that definitely wasn’t healthy for a human.</p><p>So Tony and Stephen had been lumped together by circumstance and people caring about them. Two things that Stephen hated with a passion, and two things that had failed to make anything better, all things considered. Because now, all that happened was he and Tony burnt themselves out faster.</p><p>Apart from when they didn’t. </p><p>})i({</p><p>Something was off about the magic Tony was trying to manipulate. It was obviously Strange’s fault; he’d been the one to give Tony the stuff, after all.</p><p>And was it even magic? Humans had always thought things were magic, always used magic as an excuse, and there was always, always a scientific explanation at the end of it. Manipulation of energy – that was almost definitely a part of it, but whatever type of energy –</p><p>Something exploded behind him. Ha, so Strange wasn’t having an easy time of it. Good. Tony wouldn’t claim to be a good guy, not with his history, and the small thrill of vindication he felt when Strange started cursing was absolutely brilliant. </p><p>But that goddamn magic. It just – it wouldn’t stay, or listen, despite the rudimentary instruction Strange had given him that would supposedly help him, to help him manipulate it into not exploding. Or opening a pocket in space. Or a pocket in time, or simply a rip in the very fabric of the universe –</p><p>Nope. Nope, he’s not going down that path, because it won’t end well and he doesn’t plan on breaking down or going even more maniac with someone else in the room.</p><p>He wouldn’t have thought – well, in all honesty, he <i>should’ve</i> thought - that Strange and him in the same room would cause the other to become strangely (ha, he was a genius) competitive. They’d worked well together in times of crisis, sure, but when they didn’t have the stress of universe ending doom? Nah, they were perfectly matched in the art of pissing each other off. It wasn’t like they were even trying, and yet here they were, stuck together working on projects that he was 93% certain were going to fail, and wasn’t that brilliant?</p><p>“Strange, what type of goddamn magical energy is this?” he asks, breaking them out of their (relatively) silent bubble. “Because it’s being really fucking weird.”</p><p>And it was. While Tony had been thinking, he’d also been fucking around with the magic – and not in the fun way. But contrary to what Tony had seen with Strange, this stuff kept defying the laws of physics. And magic. The laws of magic really didn’t like the laws of physics, did they? </p><p>“And how is it being weird?” Strange asks.</p><p>“It’s not – there’s nothing there,” Tony hisses. “It’s like a goddamn void, except it’s affecting the world around it, but I don’t know how exactly, and at this point I’m doubting you do either!”</p><p>“Of course there’s something there,” Strange frowns, striding over with the Cloak billowing around him. Goddamn dramatic effects, Tony swore that it only did that because it was a melodramatic piece of flying fabric.</p><p>“There can’t be; JARVIS?” Tony asks. </p><p>
  <i>“Yes, sir?”</i>
</p><p>“Run diagnostic sensors. Magical energies; what’s in this lab?”</p><p>
  <i>“The only energy I can sense is Dr. Strange’s, sir. There are two anomalies though; I cannot sense anything within them.”</i>
</p><p>“When you say anything, what do you mean by that?” Strange cuts in. “Atomic level nothing? Or just a lack of –”</p><p>
  <i>“There is nothing there, sir. It is devoid of anything, down to an atomic level.”</i>
</p><p>“That’s not – that can’t exist,” Tony muttered, forehead creasing. “Something – something should fill the gap, or –”</p><p>“Oh, shit,” Strange says, before he opens a golden portal, and then he’s rushing towards Tony –</p><p>At that exact moment, the previously non-existent magic – because it’d have to not exist, if it wasn’t there – exploded outward in a rush of black. Or rather – maybe it wasn’t black. If there was nothing there, then it’d simply be a void – and since the human brain couldn’t comprehend the void, as it were, then it’d just interpret it as black –</p><p>Tony’s thoughts cut off as it hits him. </p><p>})i({</p><p>When Stephen regains consciousness and pushes himself up and off Tony’s body, the lab looks normal. Completely devoid of any magic excluding his own, as messy as it was previously, and Tony’s lying underneath him, still unconscious.</p><p>Tony’s lying underneath him.</p><p>Tony. Underneath him.</p><p>That really shouldn’t make him feel like it does. Tony’s a prick – a self-sacrificing, arrogant, brilliant prick, which honestly sounds like he’s describing himself. And the worst things about it? </p><p>His type may just be arrogant, self-sacrificing pricks.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>But Stephen’s bisexual crisis is cut off momentarily as Tony seems to regain consciousness in a matter of seconds, bright eyes blinking open to stare up at him and oh, fuck. He’s not okay.</p><p>“If you wanted me under you, all you had to do was say the word, Strange,” Tony smirks, looking up at Stephen from under long lashes – funny, how you only notice things like that about a person when you’re lying on top of them.</p><p>Thankfully, the Cloak lifts him up and away from Tony before he can see the embarrassingly obvious flush spread up Stephen’s cheeks. </p><p>“We should be dead,” he says abruptly, breaking the slight awkwardness and ignoring the… whatever that had just happened. “We shouldn’t… that wasn’t normal magic.”</p><p>Tony snorts as he picks himself up off of the floor. “Well no shit, Sherlock. Even I could tell that that wasn’t the normal stuff.”</p><p>“Took you three hours to figure it out,” Stephen mutters. </p><p>“Wait, you knew?” Tony gasps. “And you – did you know it was dangerous, or did you just decide to let me fuck around with some random magical energy you found? Hey, Tony, here’s some magic, go play and try not to blow yourself up?”</p><p>Stephen gapes at him. “Wha – No! I was just – It was experimental, okay? And it should’ve been stabilized; I’d made sure of that, before I’d given it to you, and it was only the stuff I was working on that was supposed to explode –”</p><p>“Supposed to? What the hell does that even mean?!”</p><p>For a moment, Stephen stares at him, reality hitting him in a shock of clarity. What the hell had he been thinking? Sure, Tony could probably handle most things. But experimental, barely stabilized magical energy? Especially stuff that Stephen now knew was Void? Stuff that Stephen probably shouldn't even <i>think</i> about fucking with again.</p><p>Tony was only human. Tony had no connections to magic, despite probably being extremely capable of it. And even with his connection to magic, even with being the bloody Sorcerer Supreme, Stephen would’ve died – if you could call what the Void did to the mortal body death – if he hadn’t thought as fast as he did. They <i>both</i> would be dead.</p><p>“I’m – Sorry,” he says, nearly forcing the words out. “That was… unbelievably stupid and reckless of me. Magic like that shouldn’t be tested, and I certainly shouldn’t have tested it on you. Apologies.” God, why did he have to go so formal? </p><p>For all of ten seconds, Tony stares at him, arms crossed. Then, “Are you saying I can’t handle rouge magic?”</p><p>Stephen’s mouth opens, then clicks shut, and a strange sort of half-smile makes its way onto his face. “You would be dead if I had left you alone with that.”</p><p>And despite the sobering thought, Tony continues. “How do you know that, though? I mean, maybe the deterioration of the stabilized magic only happened because it was in close contact with your energy in the room, Strange. Also, like five seconds before that fun little near-death-experience, you said something about nothing being there on an atomic level. Explain that to me, magic boy, and maybe I’ll let you out of here without getting Pepper to kick your ass for letting me play around with dangerous shit.”</p><p>Stephen stares down at the man before him, who’s grinning up at him like a literal maniac. Part of Stephen says that he is a literal maniac; another says that he’s going to enjoy explaining all of his half-formed theories to Stark; and yet another tells him that he is fucked, and that this tiny man is probably going to be the death of him and all his repressed emotions.</p><p>“Fine then, Stark,” he says, surprisingly calm for someone with all that inner turmoil going on. “Time for a crash course in magic and the Void.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This work may turn out to be multi-chaptered, or it may simply be a prelude to the rest of the 'Verse, just as a heads-up to anyone who may be interested!</p><p>Any comments/kudos are majorly appreciated! I also have a tumblr, @friidaythirteenth, so feel free to come say hi to me on that. </p><p>Thanks for reading!</p><p>~Friday</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>